Warriors Chronicles - Book 1 - Darkness and Purity
by MantraArcana
Summary: The Warrior Code over time has been repeatedly ignored, especially by ThunderClan. The newest leader is determined to change that. How will Silverpaw and his friends adapt to ThunderClan's Tyranny? Rated T for drama and violence.


**Prologue**

The night sky twinkled lightly, the world above was a dark shade of navy blue with the silver shine of the midnight stars scattered in a beautiful, artistic way. Trees dotted the slightly foggy moor which gave an aura of creepiness, however at the same time, seeming beautiful. Something seemed mystical about the location. The moor was haunting, stunning, and mysterious all at once. The large span of territory seemed to never end, everyone and everything was at peace. It was colder than usual for the time of year; the leaves had just begun to turn, however they had not fallen. The occasional wind breeze made it much colder than it was. Though the season was freshly in leaf-fall, the windchill made it seem close to leaf-bare. In different areas of the moor, cats were conversing, enjoying themselves, socializing, and creating a picture-perfect idea of what life should be. Every now and again, the bone chilling wind would move the trees and the grass at the same time, slowly swaying melodically.

Alone, on a slightly elevated hill sat a muscular, long haired, ginger tom with a few silver tufts embedded in his pelt, with piercing amber eyes. A shiver went down his spine as the wind howled, rustling his thicker, blaze-colored pelt. The wind made his longer fur messier with every breeze. Every time the wind would stop, he would futily groom his fur back to how it should be, a controlled, well groomed, fire-colored pelt with his fur going down his body, even though the wind wanted it to go everywhere else. The old tom began to look around, scanning the moor and the crowd of cats below, looking down on them like a king does his kingdom. _"It's almost time…"_ he thought to himself as he looked back up at the star-studded sky. The tom had been sitting there for quite some time now, his old amber gaze staring into the skies as he thought. He looked along over the moor and sighed a bit, his thick pelt keeping him mostly warm, except for the occasional chill that came with the wind.

Within a few moments, his solidarity was no longer, as a sleek black she-cat with sharp green eyes joined him. "Good evening Father, sorry I took so long, I had to stop and take a moment, it's a lovely night" She said with a purr, sitting next to her kin happily. "Are you ready?" She asked. The she-cat was much smaller than the golden tom. In comparison, she was roughly half his size. She also had slight traces of gray in her black pelt, but her eyes never lost that stunning, green shine. "Of course I'm ready." He said simply. Even though the kin had been reunited in StarClan, it was different, they still never saw each other, and when they did, it was for a short time. He took a deep breath and went back to his stargazing before returning her introduction. "Hollystar. It's been awhile since I've seen you, been busy? Keeping social with other leaders I see?" He asked, pointing fun at his only daughter, watching her pelt flare up as she got annoyed. She was a very social cat, making friends with a good majority of the younger leaders. Socializing had certainly kept her from her father, and she was aware of this fact, and was not pleased whenever it was brought up.

Hollystar rolled her eyes at her father's not so subtle teasing. She had felt bad about the lack of communication between her and her father. She knew she was the one at fault in the situation. He was right however, she had spent a great deal of time with other leaders, despite her obligation to her family. Her father had died when she was only an apprentice, so he was absent for a good majority of her lifetime. It wasn't until her leader ceremony when the two were reunited, even it was only for a few moments. The two hadn't seen each other at all after that point, until it was finally her time to pass into the ranks of StarClan, and she was led there by her father and her best friend at the time. Hollystar had spent time with him when she first joined the spectral group, however after a while, she grew distant with new friends, who had new stories, and told her so many different things about before she was born. She knew he didn't mean it maliciously, it was just banter, but it still upset her because she knew that he was right. "Where are the others?" Her father asked, looking around. "I've been sitting here for what seems like a lifetime. You said midnight, and I'm here at midnight." He continued his rant before his daughter interrupted him.

"The other leaders should be here any moment now, actually." She said. Her statement had a little bit of truth, and a little bit of falsehood, in order to quiet her complaining father. "And I'm sorry father, I've been trying to arrange this meeting for over a moon now! StarClan needs to tell the other Clan cats of the incoming danger. You'd be surprised how many 'previous engagements' the other leaders had! This is urgent and it took A LOT of convincing them to come tonight, we don't have the time to waste!" She snapped quickly. It was apparent that the she-cat had been stressing about this meeting of leaders for a seemingly long time. It appeared that she had gone through great lengths in order for this meeting to take place. If Hollystar was great at one thing, it was organization. She was punctual, and efficient in everything she did, regardless of ongoing circumstances.

"I know, I know…" The ginger tom said softly in order to calm his stressed, and enraged daughter. _"Some things never change."_ he thought silently as he remembered her as a small kit, organizing 'hunting patrols' and 'border patrols' with the other kits. He always knew his daughter would make a fantastic leader one day. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by the call of different she-cat, a tabby. "Hollystar! Lionstar!" She greeted them both respectfully, with a bow of the head, she was much younger than the other two. "Leafstar." Lionstar said as he dipped his head back at the younger leader, Hollystar quickly followed his lead. Leafstar was a tabby she-cat with eyes to match Lionstar's. She was noticeably younger than the other two, for she hardly had any gray in her pelt, but a good number of subtle scars from the battles she took place in, back when she was alive. She was a hard fighter, she would never turn down a fight, which regretfully caused her demise at such a young age.

"Where's the other one?" She asked, looking around for the newest addition of leader in their ranks. Hollystar responded coldly, "Not here yet." She said impatiently, obviously annoyed that everyone was not present at the meeting that started a little while ago. Leafstar rolled her eyes, "It's just like him to be late. Rockstar has never been one to be punctual." She said, sharing the aggravation of the other she-cat. "I know, but he should at least have the respect when it comes to delivering a prophecy." Hollystar complained. The tom with them chuckled at the two. Leafstar and Hollystar were two halves of the same whole. Hollystar had trained Leafstar and chose her as the replacement in leadership, the two were close, two birds of a feather, almost as close as sisters. Lionstar had never met the leader who they were waiting on. All he knew was that he died younger than Leafstar during an ambush by rouges during battle.

It didn't take much longer for the leaders to notice a dark colored tom running towards the hill. "Oh look who finally decided to show his face." Leafstar said as the tom stumbled up to the higher ground. Lionstar lightly hit both of the she-cats with his tail. "Be kind. Set an example." He said with a chuckle, but at the same time very seriously. Now that the meeting was finally starting, it was almost time to get serious. "Here! Here! I'm here! I'm here! Sorry about the wait!" Exclaimed the darker tom as he asserted himself into the group. The tom was a dark tabby, much darker than Leafstar, a dark spruce brown with darker flecks and hazel eyes. The she-cats snapped at him at his lack of punctuality. "Are you kidding me Rockstar?!" Leafstar began. "Stonestream should be here any moment now!" continued Hollystar. Lionstar put his tail on his daughter's shoulder and stepped forward. "How are you going to meet him being all tired and flustered?" Lionstar said softly to the other tom as he bowed his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you Rockstar, I'm Lionstar." He introduced. "Before we begin, I want to express my pride in you. You helped ThunderClan through a very tough time, and it caused you to be here way earlier than you needed to. You have shown more bravery and loyalty than most cats at that lake." He praised.

Lionstar had only heard stories of the young tom. Rockstar was one of ThunderClan's youngest leaders, becoming a deputy after only four moons of being a warrior and becoming a leader at the extremely young age of 17. Most apprentices became warriors at 13. He had died at the age of 24, too young, losing the majority of his lives in a deadly battle against rogues wanting clan territory. Rockstar seemed even more flustered. "A-And you're Lionstar! The unbeatable Lionstar from The Three!" He said, starstruck. "You're a story I heard in the nursery as a kit, it's such an honor to finally meet you!" Rockstar exclaimed. "The feeling is mutual." Lionstar said with a smile.

The ginger tom stood straight, addressing the other three as a group, signifying the beginning of the meeting. "As you all know. A great danger is coming to the clans. Hollystar has already taken the liberty of explaining this to you, however I will reiterate. A great danger is coming to the clans. A darkness that begins in a clan and slowly spreads like a sickness to the surrounding clans." He explained. "Tonight we're meeting with Stonestream, ThunderClan's medicine cat to relay the information. They must be warned." He said, urgency now prominent in lower voice.

"What kind of danger?" Leafstar asked.

"That I do not know. I only know that it's like a bad herb. It needs to be destroyed at the root, before it can blossom into something worse."

"What happens if Stonestream can't find the problem before it arises?" Rockstar said, nervous for all his old family and friends he had left behind.

"It will poison the rest of the clans." Lionstar explained. "It's a terrible poison that will spread like wildfire if we don't do something about it. It will poison the hearts and minds of the clans, a change for the worst." He continued.

The cats were silent as thoughts creeped in their minds, horror overflowing on what could happen. Something that no one can prevent, a hidden poison. Each one of them thinking the worst that could happen before Hollystar finally spoke. "I have faith in my clan. The source of the problem will be found." She said hopefully. The cats nodded before Rockstar spoke next, "I know Stonestream, he's the smartest tom I know, he'll figure it out." He promised them with a soft smile. Hope glistening in his eyes as well. Leafstar looked up and chuckled a bit, "If ThunderClan's good at anything, it's stopping trouble." she smirked, looking at Lionstar. The ginger tom smiled at last, "You're all right." He said as he took a deep breath in and out, the other cats followed his lead to relax.

"He's coming…" Rockstar spoke up. "There's no mistaking it." He said as the wind blew again past them, they were upwind, so the scent of the incoming tom was obvious. The cats stood up tall as if taking their place as official leaders of StarClan. It took Rockstar a moment to get into position before looking to the other leaders for approval. "Like this?" He asked, unsure on the positioning of himself. The she-cats groaned, "It doesn't matter! Just stand straight and official!" Hollystar snapped. These quick, harsh words snapped Rockstar into a respectable position as a tom slowly peered his head over the side of the hill.

A gray tom slowly walked towards the group, radiating a natural aura of maturity and seriousness . The gray tom had cold blue eyes and a sleek figure, he wasn't even close to being as muscular as the other toms around. He noticed the leaders and walked over, his mature look slowly fading as he realized his friend was amongst the leaders of legend. "R-Rockstar…" He smiled softly, seeing his old friend. The two had not seen each other since Rockstar's passing and it was apparent that the tom did not take his passing well. "Stonestream." Rockstar said as he dipped his head to his old friend before the medicine cat walked over and nuzzled his old friend unprofessionally. "I've missed you so much. How have you been? How does it feel? Are you…" Stonestream trailed off. "What's going on?" He asked, looking at the other leaders.

Rockstar stayed silent, even though his body yearned to go embrace his old friend for comfort, he knew he couldn't. His oath to StarClan was to keep his interaction with the living as professional as possible, regardless of who it was. This upset the leader, for he longed to be close to Stonestream once more. Stonestream looked at Rockstar for an answer, and when the answer didn't come he looked at the other leaders one by one. Each one not giving him a response. The lack of speaking caused an awkward silence for what seemed like a long time. The only sound being the howling of the occasional wind, bringing a chill along with it.

Lionstar looked over at Hollystar and nodded. "We've assembled all the recent leaders in ThunderClan history." Hollystar began. She looked down at the medicine cat before stepping forward and motioning to each leader as she spoke. "This is Lionstar, my father, who fought in the battle of the Dark Forest, and kept them away, for good. Without his contribution, the outcome of the war would have been much different, and because of him and his bravery, The Dark Forest has not bothered the clans since." Lionstar dipped his head as a response to his daughter's introduction, "Do my clan proud, I know you can." he said simply, looking at Stonestream and leaving it at that.

The black she-cat continued her introductions, "Then there's me, who brought a time of peace to the lake during my reign." She said, looking at the group, with a teasing smile. "I may not have survived deadly disasters, or fought in wars against rogues, but I kept my clan safe and peaceful, as well as negotiated a time of peace for all the clans." Hollystar explained, "There was hardly any fighting and death during my time by the lake, that is my legacy." She was obviously proud of her achievement of clan peace. She basked in the glory of herself for a few moments more before continuing on to the next leader with a proud smile.

"My old deputy, Leafstar, who saved ThunderClan from the flood of leaf-bare and brought a temporary treaty of trust between the clans." She began. "This was right before you were born Stonestream." She explained. "The snow did not come during the leaf-bare, just rain, and lots of it. It ruined hunting, and caused the lake to overflow. During this time, Leafstar made a truce with the ShadowClan leader, and they offered deep ThunderClan and ShadowClan territory to the other clans for safety. It took roughly a moon for the flood to go down. There has not been such clan cooperation since The Great Journey, or the Dark Forest battle." She told him. She looked over at her friend. Leafstar smiled a bit. "I did what was best for my clan, and for all the clans. I hope you follow in my pawsteps and help the clans in the incoming moons." She said, hinting at the idea that the clans were unsafe, putting the thought into Stonestream's mind. The thought quickly went away however, when Hollystar mentioned the final leader.

"And Rockstar," She began with an overly dramatic sigh. Rockstar opened his maw to speak but with silenced by her. "I'm only joking." She said cooly with a smirk. "And Rockstar." She repeated. "Who brought together ThunderClan and ShadowClan together in yet another truce in a time of need when rouges plagued the forest that the clans shared." Hollystar explained, "I trust you knew that already though." She added. Stonestream nodded, seeming to watch flashbacks of a bloody and ugly battle. "How could I forget, so many cats died...including my best friend." He said, motioning to Rockstar. Stonestream looked at Rockstar, "We all miss you. Especially Tawnyclaw." He said.

"I miss you all too." Was the first thing Rockstar had finally said to show emotion to his old friend. He continued the trend that the other leaders began. "I died to protect my clan, I showed my loyalty on the battlefield and defended what I believe in with my life. I need you to pass this legacy on…" He said to his medicine cat. Stonestream nodded in understanding, "Anything for you sir." he nodded and bowed a bit, showing a huge amount of respect to the younger leader. The moment was cut short by Lionstar's rumbling voice. "Loyalty, bravery, and kindness; will help aid a new warrior who, after saving the clans from a deadly poison-"

"-will earn his place amongst the silver stars with the heroes before him" finished Rockstar. "That is StarClan's message to you and the other medicine cats. Something is coming Stonestream, something no one would dream of. A poison that brings no death, only suffering and hate. It's up to you and the other medicine cats to learn either of the poison, or the warrior and save the clans. Please. I beg of you." Rockstar said desperately.

Within moments after hearing Rockstar's words, a thundering crash echoed in his skull Stonestream shot awake in his den, his heart racing from the sudden wake as he looked outside his den to see his camp, very quietly bustling with early morning life, the sky gray with the incoming rain. He looked up to the roof of his medicine cat den. "I'll honor your request Rockstar. I swear it." He said quietly as he stood, getting ready for his daily routine.


End file.
